The Latino population in the United States is at a record high of 55 million, making Latinos the largest ethnic minority group. Meeting the needs of this growing demographic poses challenges and opportunities for Christian publishers. There is debate around whether original Spanish content or translated works are preferred, with evidence that both are important. While translations currently dominate the market due to availability, original Spanish authors can significantly boost engagement. Younger Latino Americans are more likely to be English dominant as well.

1. 22 CHRISTIAN MARKET / SEPTEMBER 2016 / WWW.CBAONLINE.ORG
The Latino population in the United States is at an
all-time high. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the
Hispanic population of the United States hit 55 million
in 2014, making people of Hispanic origin the nation’s
largest ethnic or racial minority. In addition, the Pew
Research Center says Hispanics are the youngest
major racial or ethnic group in the United States. It’s
no surprise then that the Hispanic church is one the
country’s fastest growing.
How to meet this group’s needs with Christian
resources poses many challenges and opportunities.
ORIGINAL OR TRANSLATION?
According to Ellen Hsu, senior rights and contracts
manager for InterVarsity Press, “there are two primary
ways publishers reach the Spanish-speaking community.
Some publishers have a Spanish imprint that publishes
Spanish language books, but most publishers grant
permission for existing Spanish language publishers to
translate their books into the Spanish language. Both
ways of reaching Spanish-speaking communities have
benefits and drawbacks.”
She notes that IVP currently uses sublicensing as the
primary way to reach Spanish-speaking communities.
“However,” she adds, “this is an area that we continue to
watch and discuss to see if there might be other ways of
reaching this important community.”
Lluvia Agustin, senior sales director of Spanish sales,
U.S. & LatAm, at HarperCollins Christian Publishing,
reports the answer to whether this demographic prefers
original or translated works isn’t cut and dried—they
want both.
“At retail, we still see more translations than original
Spanish content, but this has more to do with
availability than preference. When we have an original
Spanish author, the dynamics and opportunities are
completely different,” she says. “It’s difficult to get a
Max Lucado or Chip and Joanna Gaines on Spanish
radio or television, but when the author speaks Spanish,
this significantly increases audience engagement. When
the author is available for Spanish media, book signings
at retail, etc., and he or she is promoting his or her book
on social media, the results are exponentially better.”
“Because we’re interested in expanding the diversity
of our authors, we recently hosted a publishing
consultation with current and prospective authors
of Latino descent, including professors, pastors, and
community activists,” says IVP Associate Publisher,
Editorial, Cindy Bunch. “These consultants were very
clear with us that there’s a strong need for books in
Spanish written by authors of Latino descent who
understand the cultural context of the readers. The
group consensus was that too much of what’s on the
market is authored by Anglos who don’t bring in the
voice of the culture.”
While LifeWay Global Spanish Publishing Team Leader
Cristopher Garrido doesn’t see the need for translations
going away, he does agree that “[readers] will always
need to hear voices that are the reality of where they
live. Those of us in a Westernized background think
everyone thinks like us. They want to hear from their
peers who know their colloquialisms. One challenge
is nuances and cultural references that can’t be
translated.”
Adding another dynamic to the content debate is
younger vs. older readers. Reaching Millennials in this
demographic isn’t simple. Daniel Rodriguez, author of A
Future for the Latino Church, says, “A growing number
of U.S.-born Latinos are not only English-dominant,
but they do not speak Spanish at all. Furthermore, they
often do not maintain the same level of allegiance to
their ancestral homelands or to the cultural and religious
commitments their parents or grandparents brought
with them from their countries of origin. Nevertheless,
the overwhelming majority of U.S.-born English-
dominant Latinos are still Latinos at heart.”
With more than 20 years in magazine and book
publishing, Lora Schrock is the owner of Editorial
Answers, LLC, www.editorialanswers.com.
C R E AT E S R E TA I L O P P O R T U N I T I E S
Expanding Hispanic Market
Continue reading this article at
www.cbaonline.org/SpanishTrends.
septcm.indd 22 8/10/16 6:37 AM